What is POV? – The term POV has recently become more and more used on any social media. Then what exactly does POV mean on social media? Let’s check out the following reviews!
Social media continues to grow with all its technology and also in terms of literacy. Social media does have its own language or terms that are popularly used by its users.
Of the many languages used on social media, from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram to Tiktok, all of them can quickly become viral and are increasingly being used by everyone.
One of the terms that is often used on Tiktok is POV. At first glance, hearing POV, we can understand that POV is a term that is in a film or a story, so what does POV mean in Tiktok? Here’s the review!
What is POV? POV meaning
Ever heard of the term POV? If you still remember Indonesian language lessons or you often watch movies, then you must be familiar with the term point of view or point of view.
In language, point of view has the meaning of point of view, which is usually the point of view of a writer for his writing or work. This is done with the hope that the audience understands the intent and feeling of the writer or creator of the work.
POV in social media means the point of view from the creator’s side through the videos and photos uploaded. Judging from its use on social media, in general, content owners want to position the audience in the position of the content owner.
For example, a video post shows a concert situation with the owner of the video and his girlfriend. Then the creator of the video wrote the POV caption : When everything is fine .
From this situation, it can be concluded that the creator’s intention in writing the POV was so that the audience could feel the times before the pandemic and could still watch concerts freely. In addition, if it is known that the creator is no longer dating, then there is a possibility that the POV in question is when he has not broken up with his girlfriend.
The term that started going viral from Tiktok is now also often found in captions on any social media. Of course the term POV is not new anymore, even Ariana Grande, the famous singer from America, also made a song with the same title and tells about loving yourself from another person’s point of view.
In a literary work, POV itself has several different types depending on how it is depicted according to what the author wants.
POV Types In Fictional Stories
If you look at it in terms of literary works such as novels and other stories, POV is divided into 3 types. Determining the point of view in a work is entirely at the will of the author.
1. First Person Viewpoint (POV 1)
What is meant by POV 1? If you often read novels, both fiction and non-fiction, then you are certainly no stranger to seeing the use of the first person point of view. POV 1 is a story that tells itself or the story of the author. In the first person point of view use ‘I’ as the main role.
This first-person point of view usually builds a feeling as if the reader is experiencing something similar to the main character, because it uses ‘me’ as the center of the story.
The following is an example of a story fragment using the first person point of view.
I already feel calm and safe in Wonokromo. Robert was never seen. Mama and Annelies paid him no heed. Even so that does not mean I should feel I have replaced his position. I put all my power into impressing outsiders, I’m not a bandit, nor do I intend to bandit. And that I’m just a guest who has to go every time.
And the night after studying this I deliberately did not write. There is a desire to continue studying after the break. I don’t know why I study hard now. Want to get ahead in school. Certainly not because of family pressure or Annelies.
The encouragement was also not due to Mother’s letters which always asked if this self was hampered by difficulties. I replied to his fourth letter, to express my leeway, so that my monthly allowance should go to my younger siblings.
– Earth of Mankind, Pramoedya Ananta Toer
From the piece from Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s Earth of Mankind story above, it can be concluded that the writer uses ‘I’ as the main character who succeeds in making the reader feel like Minke throughout the story.
2. Second Person Point of View (POV 2)
If in POV 1 the author is involved in the story a lot by using ‘I’, then on the other hand in POV 2. The second person point of view uses ‘you’ as the main role, so it is very rare for a story to use POV 2, but some works like in the article will often use POV 2 with you, you, or even you.
There are not many examples of stories from a second person point of view, especially in Indonesian novels. Several novels such as Lorrie Moore’s with his book How to Become a Writer and Camping Out by Ernest Hemingway still use POV 2. Another example of a story with POV 2 is as follows.
The sun was starting to rise, calling for hot air that was increasingly blowing. You look at your watch and it’s eleven in the afternoon and now you’re not even halfway to Central Park. There are still many more blocks that must be taken with your old vehicle that looks like it can’t run anymore. What a long and frustrating day! you say.
Some articles that discuss tutorials on how to do something will tend to use the second person point of view.
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From the example article above, it can be concluded that the use of the second person point of view, namely ‘you’, will feel much better in an article than in a story that feels stiff. The pronoun ‘you’ which is the reader itself will seem to make the writer communicate with the reader, so it will feel more real when applied to works such as articles, speeches and others.
3. Third Person Point of View (POV 3)
In the third person point of view, the author positions himself as if he knows everything that happens in the whole story. In POV 3, the author generally uses the name of the main character and several other characters.
POV 3 is also divided into two types, namely limited and all-knowing third-person perspectives.
Limited POV 3
In this point of view, the writer really knows everything that happens to the characters throughout the story, but the writer does not know the details and is only based on outside observations.
The following is an example of a story fragment with a limited third point of view.
When Natan entered the apartment where he had been living in New York for four days, Akbar was already there. Watching soccer news on TV while eating premium eel chips that he managed to find, even though as Natan recalls, he had hidden the jar of chips in his desk drawer in his room.
“Hey! Nathan Circumcised!”
Rehanda Harris appeared from behind Natan’s back, then looked inside.
“Wei Bar! Akbar Surakbar! Just arrived!” Rehan exclaimed again.
And indeed that was how Akbar called the two men of Sundanese ethnicity. He originally gave the formula for the name Dungung Tekudungdung to both of them. The problem is that the name Natan doesn’t feel good.
“Help me carry it, Nat! Come on in! Rehan said again, handing one of the plastic groceries he was carrying to Natan.
-The Case We Met, Flavia
POV 3 All Know
Almost the same as the limited third point of view, the author knows everything that happens to each character, but in a much more detailed context. In this POV, the writer can know the thoughts and hearts of all the characters in the story as if the writer were a god.
Gadis Parasayu, a public relations manager at a branch of Biocell Pharmacy Indonesia (BPI), got a new position that required her to move to their head office in Jakarta. As a public relations manager for BPI’s newest flagship product called Dhemoticyl, he is required to be able to work with the BPI celebrity who holds the title of The Most Eligible Bachelor in Indonesia.
Troy Mardian, Dhemoticyl’s senior marketing manager, didn’t like the newcomer one bit. He was sure this Girl’s new career would end up like the previous PR managers who resigned in no time because they couldn’t work with her.
The girl and Troy hate each other from the first sight. In the eyes of Troy’s white-headed style girl who is dandy and song aristocratic, making the man very artificial. Not to mention Troy’s infatuation with designer label items, as well as his habit of always speaking in English, making girls increasingly disgusted with the man’s behavior.
As for Troy, the girl’s infatuation with local fashion products, made his forehead furrow sharply at how untrendy her tastes were. Not to mention her love for Indonesian food, which managed to make her stomach churn when she had to witness eating Padang food on the side of the road using her hands, without spoons and forks. How unhygienic that is!
-Love, Hate and Hocus Pocus, Karla M. Nashar
The use of POV 1, POV 2 and POV 3 often confuses novice writers, because in some stories the author sometimes uses more than 1 point of view. For example, at the beginning of the story the writer uses POV 1 to tell the story of the main character, then to explain the other characters the writer uses POV 3.
Is it OK to use more than 1 point of view? Of course you can, as long as the story remains interesting and you can apply it accordingly. Some talented writers sometimes use several points of view to get a ‘feel’ in the stories they write.
This is also sometimes not realized by the readers, because the readers have entered into the story regardless of the point of view used. That means the story is successful in making the reader feel the same way as the author of the story.
How to Choose a Viewpoint?
Want to write your own story? then it’s time for you to start thinking about which point of view you will present in your story later. For beginners, maybe determining the point of view is a little complicated and confusing.
Therefore you can use the first person point of view (POV 1) to tell your story. This POV 1 is easy to apply and also effective for drawing readers into a story.
Because in his narrative you explain in detail what the main character feels, sees and thinks, and you don’t have to bother observing other people’s points of view because it’s enough to use your point of view.
If you feel that you are getting more adept at writing stories, then you can start trying to use POV 3 to provide a much more detailed description of the characters or other figures in the whole story.
However, compared to POV 1 which can easily invite the reader to dive into the story, POV 3 tends to require more effort to be able to make the reader really feel the story like a writer. Because, there are many characters that break the focus of the reader.
However, this does not rule out the possibility for novels with POV 3 to remain interesting and much-loved. Just mention a few examples of interesting novels by Tere Liye in the Earth, Moon, and other series using POV 3 but still being able to invite readers to fall into Tere Liye’s typical fantasy world.
POV Differences in Social Media and Fictional Stories
At first glance, you might already have a POV picture on these two different media. In social media, the point of view is usually written clearly ‘POV’ and then written together with the intention that the content creator wants.
Whereas in fiction, POV is written using the pronouns ‘I’, ‘you’ and also the names of the characters that are written throughout the storyline. Even though the two have different ways of writing, POV in general has the same goal, namely to invite the reader to feel the same way as the author or creator of the work.
Book Recommendations & Related Articles
Do you know what POV is?
Now you know more about POV both in fictional stories and as social media expressions. To better understand the writing style of point of view in a story, the only way is to read a book or novel. From there you can feel the difference between novels that use the first person point of view and those that use the third person point of view. In English-language novels, POV 1 and POV 3 are often used to tell the story.
If you are interested in reading novels or books in English, or even interested in the language, you can get recommendations for novels and books for learning English at sinaumedia!
Or want to be a writer like Tere Liye, Dee Lestari, Ika Natassia. You can get a range of interesting novels with unique points of view! here are the recommendations for you!